The New Ultimate DC RPG

[Byrd Man]

Gordon sighed and looked Nygma up and down. He was definately getting far too old for this.

"Yeah," Gordon said "That's exactly what happened,"

Nygma didn't even have the decency to look surprised.

"So are you taking my job offer?

"What are my choices? It's either sign up, or end up like everyone who's ever stood in your way."

Take a long drag off my smoke, exhale slowly.

"Akins is willing to testify against you. He'll swear under oath to your dirty dealings with the mob. His testimony may not be enough to have you and Essen indicted, but it creates enough smoke to make people look into you and the rest of the MCU, myself included. He could set the department back ten years with what he talks about. Scandal after scandal until the mayor has no choice but to let you go."

Finish off my cigarette, toss it on the ground and stomp it out.

"Michael Akins is a problem that needs to go away. I can help you get rid of him."

 

[Catman_prb]

"What are my choices? It's either sign up, or end up like everyone who's ever stood in your way."

Take a long drag off my smoke, exhale slowly.

"Akins is willing to testify against you. He'll swear under oath to your dirty dealings with the mob. His testimony may not be enough to have you and Essen indicted, but it creates enough smoke to make people look into you and the rest of the MCU, myself included. He could set the department back ten years with what he talks about. Scandal after scandal until the mayor has no choice but to let you go."

Finish off my cigarette, toss it on the ground and stomp it out.

"Michael Akins is a problem that needs to go away. I can help you get rid of him."

Jim let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. Nothing changed. He wasn't out of it yet. People still...feared...respected him. No challenger to the throne yet.

"Lieutenant Nygma, if you could do that for me, I can see a bright future ahead for you. Congratulations on solving the case. And on trying to save my life," Jim said, and turned to leave. Then he paused and looked around again at the green suited detective. One last thing that he had to know.

"So it's not about justice then...it was just solving the case?"

 

[Byrd Man]

"Lieutenant Nygma, if you could do that for me, I can see a bright future ahead for you. Congratulations on solving the case. And on trying to save my life," Jim said, and turned to leave. Then he paused and looked around again at the green suited detective. One last thing that he had to know.

"So it's not about justice then...it was just solving the case?"

"It was never about either one."

Pause. Groping for the answer.

"It's about me. It's always been about me, plain and simple. Cops and criminals come and go, but Edward Nygma survives. "

 

[Catman_prb]

"It was never about either one."

Pause. Groping for the answer.

"It's about me. It's always been about me, plain and simple. Cops and criminals come and go, but Edward Nygma survives. "

"You could have survived a lot easier by working with the department. And if you wanted absolute power, all you had to do was wait around for Akin to spill his guts to a judge. What's your game?"

 

[Byrd Man]

"You could have survived a lot easier by working with the department. And if you wanted absolute power, all you had to do was wait around for Akins to spill his guts to a judge. What's your game?"

"I was a fool to try to take you down, I realize it. This city is a house of cards, built on lies. Akins tells his story and the entire power structure topples. Myself included. You may be the greater evil, but I'm not entirely innocent. You go down, I get brought down with you. That's not happening. Not any time soon. My cooperation and silence is a quid pro quo, sir. I want these attacks to stop and I'd like a nice promotion for my hard work....I think Inspector Nygma has a nice ring to it."

 

[Catman_prb]

"I was a fool to try to take you down, I realize it. This city is a house of cards, built on lies. Akins tells his story and the entire power structure topples. Myself included. You may be the greater evil, but I'm not entirely innocent. You go down, I get brought down with you. That's not happening. Not any time soon. My cooperation and silence is a quid pro quo, sir. I want these attacks to stop and I'd like a nice promotion for my hard work....I think Inspector Nygma has a nice ring to it."

Gordon cocked an eyebrow, amused.

"Inspector? Heh, I think I can do that," he said, smiling under his moustache "And the attacks will certainly stop. You can even bring Officer Kyle out of hiding if you want to. I can call Maroni off. Of course...if you wanted to stay the hero...I could make sure there was still a small threat?"

He smirked and offered Nygma his hand.

"You're a great man Inspector Nygma. You can help this city,"

 

[Byrd Man]

Gordon cocked an eyebrow, amused.

"Inspector? Heh, I think I can do that," he said, smiling under his moustache "And the attacks will certainly stop. You can even bring Officer Kyle out of hiding if you want to. I can call Maroni off. Of course...if you wanted to stay the hero...I could make sure there was still a small threat?"

He smirked and offered Nygma his hand.

"You're a great man Inspector Nygma. You can help this city,"

Shake Gordon's hand. Lock eyes.

"You leave Maroni to me. I started this cluster**** with him and Selina. I'll be the one to end it."

 

[Catman_prb]

Shake Gordon's hand. Lock eyes.

"You leave Maroni to me. I started this cluster**** with him and Selina. I'll be the one to end it."

Jim nodded.

"Any help you need, you tell me. I'll send Bullock over as muscle if you want. If he can get over his bad curry,"

 

[Catman_prb]

.
( It's skin is pretty hard. I'm pretty It can take a punch.) Jim informs the others telepathically.

As he looked back at the others to notify them he didn’t realize that another limb was coming across in his direction.

J'onn zig-zagged through flailing tentacles and pulled Majestic down out of the way of Sta'rro's blow. He turned around and flew back towards the creature, grabbing the limb in an attempt to twist it into submission. Instead he barely held on as it bucked like an enraged bull. He tightened his grip.

Mister Martian, sir. I know you're a psychic, so maybe you can hear this. Flash here, I'm with Atom. She's working on a cure and apparently the cure to stopping them is the big star thingy in the sky. Removing the face-suckers won't do any good, as a psychic link has been established with the host and the main entity in the sky.

Uhh, that's all for now. Gotta go.

We can't keep fighting like this J'onn broadcast It's only a matter of time before it hits one of us too hard. We need to move in towards its central bodily mass. Flash tells us that the only way we could possibly free it's thralls is to either kill it or move it. It has a psychic link now.

After that, J'onn started to crawl up the ancient creature's limb, heading towards the great eye. Then the parasites arrived.

 

[Byrd Man]

Jim nodded.

"Any help you need, you tell me. I'll send Bullock over as muscle if you want. If he can get over his bad curry,"

"Right."

Harvey Bullock laid up with electrical burns from my tasing.

"Thank you, sir. I'll make sure this gets done."

Turn away from Gordon. Hating myself for dealing. Only choice. Only chance to escape Gordon's wrath. To be safe to see her again.

Two more things left to guarantee safety. First step comes tonight. Walk out of the parking garage and back into Central.

Time to quash some evidence.

 

[Bounce]

The building shakes and rocks from something. Superboy might be in trouble.

Uhh, that's all for now. Gotta go.

I race out the lab and towards the entrance of the labs, hoping that whatever Superboy is up against, it isn't too much for both of us to handle.

Tumbling through the air, it is several hundred feet before Lor can manage to stop himself. Loose brick crumbles and bits of mortar drop from his shoulders as he stares down at Metropolis from nearly a mile up. In the boy's hand is the crushed remains of one of the starfish facehuggers, the destruction an unintentional consequence of reacting to having just been uppercut over tall buildings.

Well, not exactly over, as a Lor-sized chunk can now be seen missing from the roof-line of the STAR Labs building.

Around the structure are any number of sights attesting to the ease with which the child handled the various threats that had crept their way. A pair of legs jutting out from a mailbox, three starfish-faced men wrapped in a streetlamp pole, and half a Buick resting atop a dumpster from which several people pounding on the sides could be heard. Standing in the middle of the line which Atom had earlier drawn however is a rather intimidating looking albino...

Balling his small hands into fists, the young braced himself for another go at the gargantuan gentleman. Barreling down through the air, the boy arced a fist back to strike at the man. He hadn't hit a human yet, as he'd figured they'd break if he did that. Lor had no objection to breaking someone, certainly not after a particular individual had chucked him through the air. Before he could swing, the albino made contact with him first. Sticking out a hand, the brute grabbed the whole of the boy's upper head and held the child out at arm's length, laughing as the superboy tried valiantly to strike out with his shorter arms.

As Lor felt himself lifted into the air, the boy uttered something in Kryptonese that sounded as though it was probably not the most polite phrase. The ground resonated with the brutal force the white-skinned figure used to slam the child down. Chips of concrete burst into the air as the sidewalk was shattered. The impact effectively winding the youth, Lor lay there in a daze for a moment as he caught his breath.

The next moment, the brute's foot came down.

For any who might be curious about adding more iron in their diet, rebar tastes really bad...
​

 

[Byrd Man]

​

Balling his small hands into fists, the young braced himself for another go at the gargantuan gentleman. Barreling down through the air, the boy arced a fist back to strike at the man. He hadn't hit a human yet, as he'd figured they'd break if he did that. Lor had no objection to breaking someone, certainly not after a particular individual had chucked him through the air. Before he could swing, the albino made contact with him first. Sticking out a hand, the brute grabbed the whole of the boy's upper head and held the child out at arm's length, laughing as the superboy tried valiantly to strike out with his shorter arms.​

As Lor felt himself lifted into the air, the boy uttered something in Kryptonese that sounded as though it was probably not the most polite phrase. The ground resonated with the brutal force the white-skinned figure used to slam the child down. Chips of concrete burst into the air as the sidewalk was shattered. The impact effectively winding the youth, Lor lay there in a daze for a moment as he caught his breath.​

The next moment, the brute's foot came down.​

For any who might be curious about adding more iron in their diet, rebar tastes really bad...​

"Hey, hey, hey."

"How about picking on someone your own size?!"

Picking up speed, I strike the large man in the face with my fist. He flies off Superboy, flipping in the air and landing on the ground with a large thud.

I hold my fist and resist the urge to wince.

"...Owww."

 

[Bounce]

Picking up speed, I strike the large man in the face with my fist. He flies off Superboy, flipping in the air and landing on the ground with a large thud.

I hold my fist and resist the urge to wince.

"...Owww."

The child brought his head up from the sidewalk, coughing up chunks of concrete and spitting shards of rebar. Then he smiles. "'Bout time," the boy said cryptically, coming up from the ground and surveying the area. It seemed as though he didn't mean Flash's arrival. His eyes were focused on the large albino man. The first real challenge Lor had dealt with since he'd arrived here.

"Hey, if we fight him here... don't you think we'll, like, trash a lot of stuff?" the boy asked Flash curiously. Not that he was really worried about getting in trouble, but nobody liked to get scolded.

The pair didn't have a lot of time to discuss the matter, as the brute came barreling at the two. Ducking under the man's reach, Lor dashed through the air toward a large vehicle parked on the road. The tag on the back said H2. Heaving the hummer up over his head, the superboy turned back toward the brute and recalled something he'd seen in a movie.

"BLUE PUNCH BUGGY!"

Wielding the hummer like a bat, the child slammed the man with the car with sufficient force to rip the front end of the car's frame as the two collided, dropping the engine out and sending it flying along with the man as the pair went arcing through the air and straight through a department store window across the street.

Obviously pleased with himself, Lor dropped the wrecked car onto the street as he breathlessly added, "No punch back!"

 

[Byrd Man]

​

The child brought his head up from the sidewalk, coughing up chunks of concrete and spitting shards of rebar. Then he smiles. "'Bout time," the boy said cryptically, coming up from the ground and surveying the area. It seemed as though he didn't mean Flash's arrival. His eyes were focused on the large albino man. The first real challenge Lor had dealt with since he'd arrived here.

"Hey, if we fight him here... don't you think we'll, like, trash a lot of stuff?" the boy asked Flash curiously. Not that he was really worried about getting in trouble, but nobody liked to get scolded.

The pair didn't have a lot of time to discuss the matter, as the brute came barreling at the two. Ducking under the man's reach, Lor dashed through the air toward a large vehicle parked on the road. The tag on the back said H2. Heaving the hummer up over his head, the superboy turned back toward the brute and recalled something he'd seen in a movie.

"BLUE PUNCH BUGGY!"

Wielding the hummer like a bat, the child slammed the man with the car with sufficient force to rip the front end of the car's frame as the two collided, dropping the engine out and sending it flying along with the man as the pair went arcing through the air and straight through a department store window across the street.

Obviously pleased with himself, Lor dropped the wrecked car onto the street as he breathlessly added, "No punch back!"

"That was awesome.....but the punch buggy thing only applies with a certain type of car. Uhh, I'll explain it later."

The large man comes out of the store window and eyes us with murderous rage.

"What do you say? You go high, I go low?"

 

[MST3K 4ever]

The Atom floats out of the second victim and grows back to 6 inches.

She makes her way to the stasis decontamination chamber and is cleansed. She then floats back to the control room and begins studying her findings and the video images. The Atom then floats over to the microscope without saying anything.

The Atom notices that room around her is getting darker. She looks at the scientists gathering around her and says, "Excuse me I need some room to work."

The others back off and Dr. Bernstein asks, "What do you think?"

The Atom replies as she resumes her studies, "What I think is not important what I know is if the Earth was our patient her pulse would be weak and thready. We have been playing getting to know you and nice-nice with an alien that has no issue with taking us out."

She floats away and sits on the edge of the Control Panel and bows her head. She then says, "It's like trying to nail Al Capone. You know he did all these things but you just can't get enough evidence to peice together everything and...."

The Atom looks away deep in thought. She suddenly springs up and says, "Wait a minute a pulse! Mac that tapping sound it was enough to snap me out of it. To break the control of the creature! Every living thing has one thing in common electro and chemical-energy created by the brain and when that control is disrupted the equalibirum and everything breaks down."

Mac replies, "I think I see where you're going but continue."

The Atom floats up to eye level and says, "What about kind of like an audio E-M-P. If we were able to find the right frequency that would disrupt the signals of the creatures on a celluar and telepathic level. The trick is finding the right frequency."

She turns to Mac and says, "Get my gear together again. Griggs set up the statis chamber for audio testing. I'm going back in to the sample Flash got us. We're going to need to see what happens as we increase the sound so we can know when we got the right level."

For the first time since the crisis began the room has a feeling of hope.

 

[Byrd Man]

T
he door to the interrogation room opens suddenly. Nygma walks in and stares at Akins.​

"Sage. Let me see the notebook and the recorder."​

"...Why?"​

"I'm going to put it in evidence. Write out Akins statement and get him to sign it."​

I sheepishly hand over the recorder and notebook.​

"Okay..."​

Nygma walks out and slams the door shut. I can't shake off that uneasy feeling as I wait for Nygma to come back.​

"You might want to go after him," Akins says after five minutes. "He's in the process of royally screwing you."​

I shake my head and get up, rushing out the room and going after Nygma.​

"You see Nygma?" I ask Cris as I pass him in the hall.​

"Uhh, yeah. He was headed to the john."​

My heart starts to pound as I run towards the bathroom. I come in the door just as Nygma is shoving Akins notebook and the digitial recorder into the toliet. I run across the room and knock him away from the toilet.​

"What the **** are you doing?!"​

"Saving our lives, Sage. Yours and mine."​

"We don't have any other evidence! That's our case!"​

"Akins is a nutball. He killed those people, but the rest of what he's saying is bull****. It's a lie."​

"An hour ago you were all into this, feeding me this **** about corruption."​

"These people we're ****ing with don't **** around. The only way we can survive is to lie."​

"That's wrong. It's not justice. Gordon and Essen deserve to go to jail for what they did it. It was immoral and wrong."​

"Don't play the moral high ground on me, Sage. You bend the rules."​

"The hell you say."​

"You've hidden evidence in the Holiday case, you helped me break into Bullock's place. You watched me torture him. You're not below bending the rules. I know this. Or do I need to remind you of your after hours hobby?"​

I stare at Nygma, not sure if he means what I think he means. His smirk confirms my worst nightmare.​

"I don't get involved with someone without knowing all their dirty secrets. It's compelling stuff. Homicide detective by day, no-faced vigilante by night. Beating up criminals in a suit doesn't mean you're better than me, Rorschach."​

That's when I lose it. I tackle Nygma and wrestle him to the ground. I can feel it all pouring out as I punch Nygma in the side. All my rage. All my sadness. All my frustration at this god awful city and the corruption I'll never be able to change.​

By the time Cris and Sergeant Merkel pull me off of Nygma, my hands are scraped and bloody.​

"F-**** you, Sage," Nygma stutters as he holds his side. "You're done in this department. I'm taking your badge. You're out."​

"Go to hell, I quit." I say as I turn away from the son of a ***** and walk out.​

Side hurting. Ribs bruised. Sage marching away. Pissed at him. Pissed at myself. Limp out of the bathroom. Back down the hall into the interrogation room.​

Akins with a smug smile.​

"Wipe that grin off your face. I'm going to tell you how it's going to go. I just destoryed both your confessions. I'm going to rewrite your confession to exclude all that **** about Gordon, White Christmas, and the Narco unit. You became Holiday after the suicide of your wife caused you to snap."​

"Do what you want. I'll talk at the trial."​

"Nope. You're not getting a trial. I have a friend at Arkham, a doctor I helped out a few years back when I was a Sergeant. He owes me a favor. He's going to rule you mentally unfit to stand trial. This, combined with your confession, is enough to get you confined to a mental asylum. Not Arkham, though, I'm having you shipped out of state. You can tell your crazy story to the docs in Virgina. I'm sure they'll believe you."​

Akins smile gone. Erased by rage.​

"No! You can't! I have to do this! People have to know why!"​

"**** you. You don't get to win. I get to win."​

"No! No!"​

Akins screaming. Walk out the interrogation room, get two uniforms to lead him off. Screaming down the halls of the Homicide unit.

"NO! NO! NO!"​

In the end, Edward Nygma survives.​

 

[Eddie Brock]

District Attorney Harvey Dent

"She's pretty."

I'm sitting in an armchair, a cold beer in my left hand and the Rodney Barnes case file in my right. Gilda's standing in the center of the room, arms crossed with the remote control in her hands. Rachel Dawes is on the television. They're replaying her press conference where she announced her new position as Assistant District Attorney.

Gilda looks at me for a response. I shrug. "I hadn't noticed." It's the God's honest truth. Though I can see where Gilda's beginning to develop a complex. First Janice, now Rachel. I'm sure for once she wouldn't mind if the ADA was a balding, middle-aged man.

"Oh, sure you hadn't," Gilda says sarcastically. She plops down onto the couch, tossing the remote aside casually. "Harvey Dent never misses a pretty face."

"That's why I'm with you," I wink.

Gilda rolls her eyes, smiling. "Oh! Did I tell you? My parents are coming in from Coast City," she announces. "They're getting in Saturday morning. I agreed to pick them up from the airport. We're having dinner that night."

I smile. "Good. I love spending quality time with the Golds."

***

"State your name and title for the record, please."

The black man on the witness stand clears his throat before leaning forward into the microphone. "Detective Crispus Allen, GCPD."

Rodney Barnes' defense attorney, Adrian Chase, smiles through his thin lips. Chase and I have gone toe-to-toe on more than one occasion, dating back to my time working in the prosecutor's office. His kind makes me sick. Helping to keep murderers and rapists on the streets, all for the sake of a paycheck.

Everything in balance, I suppose.

"And you were investigating this case with Detective Stan Merkel, is that correct?"

"That is correct," Allen nods.

Chase nods. "I see. And which one of you conducting the interrogation?"

"Neither of us, sir."

Chase arches an eyebrow in mock-surprise. That's another thing that's always irked me about this guy. He's all about the grandeur, the show. He almost treats this like a game. "Then who conducted the interrogation, Detective?"

"Lieutenant Edward Nygma," Allen answers obediently.

"Lieutenant Edward Nygma," Chase repeats. He turns to face the court. "Who, of course, is unavailable for testimony." He looks at me and grins. He's proud of himself and where he's going with this. "Why was the Lieutenant asked to perform the interrogation, Detective?"

Allen clears his throat. It's a seemingly meaningless gesture, but I recognize it right away. A nervous twitch. And to a guy like Chase, it's blood in the water. "Lieutenant Nygma has a lot of experience in that field," Allen answers. A half-truth.

"Isn't it true, Detective, that Lieutenant Nygma views interrogation as a game of sorts?"

Allen coughs again. Another nervous twitch. "I don't understand."

Chase smirks, making sure to let me see it. "Oh, but I think you do, Detective." Chase begins to pace in front of the witness stand. "Doesn't Lieutenant Nygma ask you to time his interrogations?"

"He does," Allen replies nervously.

"Isn't the goal to get the suspect to confess as quickly as possible?" Chase asks accusingly. Allen opens his mouth to respond, but Chase cuts him off. "Tell the truth, Detective. You guys get your kicks out of doing this, don't you?" Allen stammers for a moment, but Chase swoops in again. "You like watching the suspects crack under pressure, isn't that right?"

I've heard enough. "Objection, your honor! He's not even letting the witness answer his questions."

Judge Pratt nods. "One question at a time, Counselor."

Chase nods, looking a bit like a child being scolded while still thinking about what he got away with. "Fair enough. I just have one more question, Detective. How long?"

Allen looks at the floor. "Six minutes and forty-five seconds."

"Impressive."
​

 

[sabetoonth]

​

Victor had been inside all day, managed to tear himself away from work and Nora, but he constantly thought about her, but if he went to her White’s men might follow and kill them both. They just go kill her anyway. His mental self torture finally cuased his limits to be reached. He grabbed his coat and headed for the door, he heard a moaning sound, then it became clearer

“Star’ro…”

“What?” he barely even mouthed the word as he struggled to think fo what was going on. He looked through the peep hole. Ben Mathews, his neighbor down the hall. Victor opened the door.

“Ben, whats going on?”

“Star’ro.” He repeated.

“Star’ro?” Victor’s head tilted as he furrowed his brow suriously. “What’s Star’r-”

“Destroy.” Without missing a beat Mathews lunged forward at Victor, who noticed star shaped lesions and black eyes. The marks forming a star like shape over the head face. Victor gasped as he was knocked over by the zombie like man. “Destroy..” His tone was drone and as if it came from everwhere. He pushed Victor back against the half wall to the counter, hands wrapped around Freis’ throat.

“BEN! NO!” he struggled with all his might against his attacker, he looked ‘up’ at the counter seeing his knife block. Reaching his fingers for it, he couldn’t reach, he could feel the air being squeezed from his lungs. His face turning red, he reached farther. Still nothing, he reached for Ben’s head and didn’t like what he was going to most likely have to do. Victor moved his thumb over Ben Mathews’ eye, he was hesitant about it, but then he stopped stalling before he was choked to death and pushed the appendage into the eye of his assailant. With not a sound Ben grabbed at his eye, and Victor gasped for breath before running out the door into the hall, down the steps and into the nearest subway station.

Slumping into a seat on the subway Victor knew he had to defend himself against anyone else like that, because Ben wasn’t usually homocidal, nice guy really. So something was off, and the only weapons of defense Victor had any idea about where in his lab.

Victor thought about what was going on the entire ride. When the subway car halted, he rose from his seat, walked into the station, looking around to see if there was anyone around acting like Ben, but everyone he saw acted normal.

Rising out of the underground Victor Freis walked into Waynetech hurriedly and without a word, he rode the elevator to his lab and unlocked everything, he took a few moments to piece everything together, seal the tubes in place and finished the freeze gun, if something was going to try and take him, he’d be damned if it didn’t have to be microwaved first.

He walked past the armor, it was designed to cool you down, to keep you comfortable in a warm environment, but it was also armor. He stared at it for maybe a minute thinking about putting it on. No, he decided against it and moved forward towards the door, he heard a shrieking scream. He had never fired a gun before, but he had seen people do it; he held the butt of the weapon to his shoulder and in a dash exited the lab looking in all directions for the source of the scream.

 

[Byrd Man]

O'Malley's Irish Pub is the site for the wake. Detectives and patrolmen pack the bar. All of them brother officers in the GCPD. Nobody above the rank of Sergeant, the brass don't like to come to these kinds of things.

The officers pass by the body of the recently departed, laid out on the bar's pool table for all to see.

Sergeant Stan Merkel stands up first, adressing the crowd and clearing his throat.

"Jesus...what can you say, really?"

"Only 13 years on the job," Detective Crispus says from the front row. "Not even 35 yet. He went too young."

"But he had the whooping cough and lungs of an 80-year-old," someone in the back yells out to much laughter.

"Yep," Merkel says to get things back on track. "He was also a damn fine detective....but punching out a lieutenant, Christ, what an ***hole!"

That's when I sit up on the pool table, looking around at everyone.

"You'd have all done the same!" I yell back.

"Sit the hell down, Sage! You're dead to us, now!"

I lay back down on the felt and shake my head.

This is my detective's wake. Nygma said he'd get my badge, but I didn't give him the chance. I walked into the CID commander's office and resigned. The commander assured me that Nygma was a gaping ***hole and that he was either going to take my badge, or bust me down to patrol. I'd be working a footpost so far out in the Gotham 'burbs, I'd meet the Metropolis Police on my route.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do now, but I'll figure it out. I got enough extra cash from all my Homicide overtime that I got a little nest egg.

"Anyway," Merkel says as he quiets the bar down. "Vic, you had an impressive career with the GCPD. You were there during the riots in '98, brandishing a nightstick at the corner boys, you solved the triple shooting at the Adams Projects in '07, had a clearance rate of 89% in your five years in Homicide, and you put down the worst serial killer Gotham has ever seen. Brother, you were the best man we ever had. To you."

Everyone in the bar raises a glass in my honor. That's when the bartender puts on the Irish melody.

[YT]XwiZcCU36ss[/YT]

I get up from the pool table and walk around the bar, shaking hands and talking with my former brother officers. Drinks go around and get sucked down. Everyone mumbles along with the lyrics, shouting out the chorus in unison.

"I'M A FREE BORN MAN OF THE USA!"

Tomorrow I can worry about my hangover what comes next in life.. But right now, it's time to enjoy my time with my friends. Fellow officers and detectives, no room for murderous bosses or back-stabbing lieutneants. Tonight is my last time in the brotherhood I'm no longer part of.

Tomorrow, I'm Mister Sage. But for a few more hours, I'm Detective Sage. And all is still right with the world.

 

[Eddie Brock]

District Attorney Harvey Dent

"Knock, knock."

The bathroom door opens, and Gilda steps inside. I give her a quick smile before directing my attention back at tying my tie. Gilda slips behind me and kisses me on the nape of my neck.

"Mind if I commandeer this room so I can blow-dry my hair?" she asks.

As I put the finishing touches on my Windsor knot, I say, "Be my guest, m'lady. I'll be getting out of your way now." And with a smile, I step out of the bathroom, with Gilda closing the door behind me. I make my way over to the bed, pick up my jacket, and throw it over my shoulders. I feel something small but heavy in my jacket pocket.

My grandfather's lucky 1922 double-headed Peace Dollar. He showed me it once when I was younger, telling me, "A man isn't born into this world with a whole lot of luck. Sometimes, he's got to make his own." When he passed away, he left the coin to my father, who in turn gave it to my on my graduation day. I must've left it in this pocket.

Smiling as I examine the trick coin's identical faces, I flip it into the air, saying, "Heads, I go through with this." I've got a lot more planned than just dinner with Gilda's parents tonight.

***

James and Madison Gold. Gilda's parents. I've only met them a handful of times, usually around the holidays. While they're originally from the suburbs of Gotham, they took to an early retirement in Coast City. Gilda doesn't get to see them much, so it always makes them happy whenever they can visit.

Little does she know that I was the one to arrange this trip.

"How're you treating my daughter, Mr. District Attorney?" Mr. Gold laughs, taking my hand and shaking it firmly.

"Like a princess, Mr. Gold. You look lovely, Mrs. Gold."

Mrs. Gold blushes. "Oh, thank you, Harvey."

Clearing his throat, Mr. Gold asks, "So, Gilda, where are you taking us to eat?"

"Harvey and I just found this great steakhouse downtown. You'll love it."

Gilda and Mrs. Gold begin to walk to the car, but I grab Mr. Gold by the arm. "If you have a second, Mr. Gold." He nods. "Look, I didn't just invite you guys down here for a quick visit. I actually wanted to ask you something, and I wanted to ask you to your face."

"Oh?"

"I'm going to ask Gilda to marry me, and I want your blessing," I explain.

Mr. Gold's face is blank for a moment. All I can hear is my own heart beating. Then, suddenly, Mr. Gold erupts into warm laughter and pats me on the shoulder. "An old-fashioned man! That's what I like about you, Harvey." He grabs me by the shoulder and smiles. "You're going to make Gilda very happy. And if you don't, I'll know where to find you."

"Are you two coming?" Gilda calls from the car.

Mr. Gold looks at me and winks. I hold my grandfather's lucky coin in the palm of my hand.
​

 

[Eddie Brock]

SELINA KYLE

"If you've got a hand, Miss Beaumont!"

I click off the safety on my pistol and look up. Alfred is pushing a leather couch in front of the elevator doors. I flick the safety back on and stuff the gun in the waistband behind my back. I run over to the couch and help Alfred push.

"Grab that grandfather clock, would you?"

Nodding, I wrap my arms around said grandfather clock and begin to drag it across the floor. Once I'm close enough to our makeshift barricade, Alfred reaches out and pulls the clock down, laying it somewhat gently on top of the couch. The elevator doors are blocked to about chest height.

"You think that'll hold them?" I ask hesitantly.

"For a minute or two," Alfred answers. He grabs me by the arm and guides me across the room to the bar. Ever the gentleman, he opens the built-in door so I can slip behind the counter. As I take out my pistol again, he climbs in beside me. "How many bullets do you have?"

I look at him and reply, "Not enough."

DING!

We both turn our attention to the barricaded elevator doors. As they slide open, hands spring out and begin pushing at the barricade. Alfred piled as much furniture as possible, but I don't think he anticipated the size of their swarm. They begin to push the barricade aside, so I level my pistol and take aim.

"If I may, Miss Beaumont, they're getting through," Alfred says nervously.

I bite my lip. "I can't just shoot them. Those are still people," I explain. "Whatever that thing on their face is, it has to be the cause of this."

"What are you proposing?"

"Destroy the thing on their faces. If they still want to tear us apart, I'll pull the trigger." Alfred eyes me hesitantly. "I'll cover you from here."

Nodding, Alfred hops over the counter. "Miss Beaumont, I've grown quite attached to my face. Don't let them do anything to it." Alfred grabs a brass coat rack and waits for the flood to come. Only a few seconds later, our barricade clatters to the ground, and the first group rushes into the penthouse.

Alfred swings the coat rack like a baseball bat, striking the attackers with surprising precision. He's able to hold them at bay by using the coat rack to keep them at arm's length. Every now and then, one of them makes a move, and Alfred greets him with a sharp blow to the head. Occasionally, another one will break and try to catch Alfred from behind, but I pick them off with precise shots to the shoulders or the knees.

Alfred gets one of the attackers on the ground, and he jumps on top of him. I fire into the crowd to give Alfred time as he wrenches at the parasite on the person's face. Finally getting it free, Alfred tosses the wriggling would-be starfish onto the ground. I fire one quick shot, and the thing is dead.

God help us, this plan is working.
​

 

[Batman]

Twenty minutes had passed since initial words were exchanged between the gathered heroes, and the situation was far from improving. Metropolis was obviously at the forefront of the viral attack, but reports were coming in through multiple channels that suggested the outbreak had began leaking into other points around the country - maybe even the world. Chicago's streets were filled with rioters, attacking anyone unfortunate enough to be grafted to a star parasite. Rural parts of Los Angeles were becoming a war zone, not long after military presence became readily available. Officials in New Orleans were being overpowered and quickly rendered understaffed, leaving many of it's devastated slums paralyzed under the wake. Many religious fanatics were already labeling the outbreak as the sign of Armageddon.

No matter how it could be perceived, the situation had turned from a mere virus into absolute anarchy. Yet while the struggle to contain Star'ro's many forms of biological followers continued on, it was The Batman who found himself questioning an entirely different matter at hand - the metahumans, and whether they could be trusted. Still overcome by the sense that he was well out of his element by attempting to tackle the outbreak, his thoughts kept coming back to the woman he had been assigned to work with in an effort to keep Star'ro's unwilling followers at bay.

Whenever the two of them would collectively strike to protect those in danger from attacking drones, Batman was given only the smallest sample of Wonder Woman's strength in action. She had effortlessly made work of several different drones at once, leaving Batman with a very few to take down at each scene. Keeping up with her incredible speed was a chore within itself, as The Dark Knight found himself chasing little more than a blur of motion. And while witnessing such feats up close could be considered something to be marveled at, Batman only grew more concerned with each new ability he learned that she possessed.

At any time, if she wished, Wonder Woman could use her strength to tear through muscle tissue and raw bone. Use her speed to flatten biological material and kill many men at once with ease. Yet in this fight, she had been holding back. Pulling her punches and using only the minimalist tactics to stay ahead, many people had the heroine to thank for saving their lives, this night. It should have been enough to convince Batman that she could be trusted - but for some reason, it wasn't. Seeing that kind of power only raised his awareness tenfold, bringing about an overly cautious mindset to however he moved and acted around her.

It was almost as if... he was afraid of her. Or more specifically, of what she was capable of, if she happened to come into contact with one of the parasites latching themselves onto unsuspecting parties. While it was evident that she was more than capable of deflecting much danger at once, as she had repelled dozens of hordes that seemed to unify when one was met with any sign of opposition, Batman wasn't sure that she was incapable of becoming one of them any more than he was. Every moment that they breathed the Metropolis air, or fought the infected outright, they ran the risk. And it was starting to become the bigger concern to him than the outbreak itself.

Having rounded up several attackers at once for the Metropolis SWAT unit to haul away for safety, Batman and Wonder Woman stood quietly from an afar rooftop to assess how the police were handling the outbreak themselves. And from what they could tell, their method wasn't very efficient. They were simply keeping prisoner carriers filled with a capacity of infected Batman sneered, running the possible worst case scenarios through his mind. They didn't have the time or the energy to focus on what could potentially happen - not with an entire city like Metropolis to keep from crumbling apart. It was hardly any wonder that they required no less than a "Man Of Steel" to look after them.

"We need a different strategy."

It was the first few words Batman had said to acknowledge Wonder Woman since they started. Whether it was simple focus toward their work or an underlying mistrust, he hadn't found the necessity to keep a conversation going. But it had reached the point that mere action wasn't enough anymore.

"Handling one isolated incident at a time isn't going to slow the outbreak down. And staying close to eachother in a city this size is only making that more obvious. But we can't take the risk of going after them alone, either."

Rubbing the bridge of his cowl in frustration, Batman realized just how hopeless it was becoming. Given his fields of expertise, he wasn't prepared to approach a problem of this magnitude. And something told him that no matter her experience, neither did Wonder Woman. They needed to compromise and reach a feasible plan before the time to stop this ultimately ran out. "The parasites have to have a weakness. Star'ro wouldn't have needed human hosts otherwise. If we can learn whatever that is, we stand a chance of being able to incapacitate them on a mass scale."

Batman turned to her, as she was evidently contemplative. "But that's just another theory. I could use a second opinion."

 

[Byrd Man]

​

Post-Holiday whizzes by. Headlines, grip and grins with Mayor Thorne, commedations. Sage: quietly swept under the rug. Full credit shifted my way. One more loose end to tie up....

To the MCU. Captain Essen's office.

"Nygma....I suppose I owe you a thanks. Thanks for saving Jim and I."

"Don't thank me. Thank Batman."

Twist the knife a little. Pour salt in the wound. Essen winces.

Through gritted teeth: "Yes...I suppose I should....thank him. I guess I should put you to use while I've got you around. When is your promotion going through?"

"I gotta wait for the city council's sub-committee to approve my promotion."

Essen scowls. "Wait, what? The city council only approves any promotion above major. What are you getting?"

"Inspector."

"That's not a rank."

"Used to be back in the day. It's equal to a colonel."

"So, you're being bumped all the way from lieutenant to colonel. That's what?"

"I'm leap-frogging three whole ranks. I'll be commanding Homicide until they get Akins' replacement in, and then I'm moving into Colonel Morrison's office when he retires in a few months."

Crest-fallen: "You're becoming CID commander?"

"Yep. Homicide, Robbery, Vice, Sex Crimes, Missing Persons, even the MCU. All under my command."

"So...you'll be-"

"Your boss. That's right."

Essen frowns. Poor girl. Thought the job was her's for the taking. Pillow talk with Commish doesn't equal good police work. Too bad, so sad. Better luck next time.

"Anyway...uhh, what do you need?"

"Your approval on an arrest warrant."

Slide all the evidence over to her. Jaw drops after a second. "Nygma....this is....I-I-I don't know what to say. You've got Salvatore Maroni cold on-"

"Twenty-three counts of bribing a police official, ten counts of rackettering, thirteen counts of obstruction of justice, and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. All charges have recorded evidence to go with it."

"Where did this come from?"

"An undercover operation I was working. Only Gordon knew about it. For the past two years, I've been wearing a wire and playing dirty cop for Maroni."

"What about that other girl? The one that worked in Vice? Jim told me she was undercover in the Maroni mob."

"Selina Kyle? Heh. Yeah, she got evidence alright. Evidence that Maroni snores like a buzzsaw and is a lousy screw."

"We have Maroni dead to rights."

"Yep. At worst he's getting life in jail."

Sal Maroni puts a hit out on me. Tries to kill the woman I love. Rats me out. Won't take that sitting down.

Time for hiding has long passed. Time to be proactive, to use the GCPD to my advantage.

Time to hunt.​

 

[sabetoonth]

Victor thought about what was going on the entire ride. When the subway car halted, he rose from his seat, walked into the station, looking around to see if there was anyone around acting like Ben, but everyone he saw acted normal.

Rising out of the underground Victor Freis walked into Waynetech hurriedly and without a word, he rode the elevator to his lab and unlocked everything, he took a few moments to piece everything together, seal the tubes in place and finished the freeze gun, if something was going to try and take him, he’d be damned if it didn’t have to be microwaved first.

He walked past the armor, it was designed to cool you down, to keep you comfortable in a warm environment, but it was also armor. He stared at it for maybe a minute thinking about putting it on. No, he decided against it and moved forward towards the door, he heard a shrieking scream. He had never fired a gun before, but he had seen people do it; he held the butt of the weapon to his shoulder and in a dash exited the lab looking in all directions for the source of the scream.

Victor reached the second floor, just above the lobby when he found the source of the scream, the receptionist was under attack by more of these star fish people, some of them ha actual creatures on their heads!

“Jenny, run!” Victor said as he mustered his courage taking aim at the aggressors with his invention. As he pulled the trigger, the liquid nitrogen travelled through the tubing, the weapon heated up as to not freeze into a glass. Shooting out the end a spray of liquid nitrogen and freezing air passed from between Victor to the pack of zombies. The spray didn’t turn them into blocks of ice, but it made contact and parts of them froze solid, the leg of one shattered as he brought his foot down hard on the floor and another tripped over the body smacking their forearm against the ground, cracking it. They didn’t feel any pain, the nerve endings where dead, frozen.
Victor looked at Jenny as she ran back towards the elevator. Her brunette hair bouncing as she tried to escape in her heels. He ran up to her with the large gun still on his arm.

“Jenny, we need to find a place to barricade ourselves in, I only have so much fuel for the gun.” He looked at her direly, she gathered her wits best she could.

“Th-the cafeteria has a storage room.” she stammered. He grabbed her wrist and started off that way. He hadn’t used the cafeteria much; he ordered food from outside or brought his own lunch. The air was cold, maybe a by product of the gun’s use, the evaporating liquid nitro and super cooled air filling the air. He saw his breath as he heard them coming, more of them many more. He turns around, he didn’t know if this would work, but he saw it in an old movie he had seen with Arnold. He aimed at the air just above the ground, he saw it start to work, the air was freezing solid, he raised the been and the wall grew, eventually there was a wall locking off the cafeteria from the rest of the front of the building through the halls. Dashing into the cafeteria he found the receptionist balled up behind the counter,

“Jenny, Jenny.” He said trying to get her attention, he turned to him, he realized what was wrong, and she had a thing on her face, a single, orange red eye staring at him.

“Star’ro…” she uttered blankly, Victor was terrified, he wasn’t going to shoot her, no, she would get help, but he needed to get in the storage room. Victor raised the gun and aimed at the floor; he squeezed the trigger and created a puddle of ice on the ground before the door of the storage room as he backed into it, closing the door with a chunk sound.

“Big door.” He said realised it was like being in a vault.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

The Atom puts her gear on again and shrinks to microscopic size. She enters one of the human test subjects.

Mac says, "Shouldn't we first test our theory on the Star'ro parasite?"

The Atom replies, "We need to know how humans will react to the pulse. It won't do us a lot of good to come up with a solution that kills humans, because if that was the case why not just nuke the planet and hope for the best later!"

Atom takes a deep breath and says, "Sorry about that Mac. You asked a good question and I over-reacted I'm sorry. This whole crawling around people's bodies and nearly be overtaken by one of these things has made me somewhat grumpy."

Mac replies, "I understand Atom. Griggs says we're ready when you are."

Atom replies, "Okay then start off at our agreed level and increase the decibel level by a half decibel every 15 seconds. Go on my mark 3,2,1 Go!"

Griggs begins increasing the level. On the outside world everything calm and motionless, however inside the human body the Atom struggles with the increasing vibrations.

Mac asks, "Atom have you noticed anything yet?"

Atom responds, "Some cellular changes some of them are blowing apart. Right now though I feel like a flea riding a rampaging elephant. I hope...wait some serious changes I gotta risk it. I'm heading to the Star'ro brain.

Mac says, "Atom no remember last time."

But the tiny heroine doesn’t' listen to Mac she swims through several cellular levels to reach the brain.

So that is how they bond through secretion and thousands of suction cells. Just a few more strokes.

Atom says, "Mac the brain it is pulsing at an believable rate and turning red. Griggs up the decibels every 3 seconds we are so close!"

Suddenly the brain explodes and dissolves.

The Atom yells, "THAT'S IT!"

Mac says, "We got the level get out of there!"

She responds, "Mac I can't move through this stuff anymore it's crystallizing around me I....."

Mac says, "ATOM!"

He looks around the room and says, "Get me a microscope, a slide and dissection tray NOW!"

Bernstein gives the items to Mac as he dashes into the stasis room he says, "Get to work on the handhelds use the old modular displacement units and equip them to produce the frequency."

He quickly notices the humans coming out of their mind controlled state. Mac also notices that the parasites are turning into crystals and falling off.

Mac looks at them and says, "We'll be with you in a moment."

Mac runs over to the Star'ro with the Atom trapped inside.

He says, "This was your last locational reading I hope this works."

Mac cracks the Star'ro shell with a lab-hammer and then begins looking through the particles with the microscope.

He notices one particle is growing at a rapid rate until a 6 inch figure is laying on the microscope slide struggling. Mac then removes Atom from the slide. He taps lightly on the cellular casing finally freeing her.

The Atom starts to stand up she stumbles and says, "I feel terrible."

Mac picks her up and says, "You did it your theory worked! We finally have a fighting chance! With no damage to humans except for a mild headache and disorientation. Now we just need to figure out a way to get the signal out."

The Atom shakes off the cobwebs a little more and says, "Piggy-back."

Mac looks at her strangely and she says, "Mac lock in on every signal we can think of satellites, emergency broadcast, cell-phone, radio, multimedia websites, TV you name it and have our signal ride underneath it."

Mac replies, "That can work we Griggs and Bernstein are putting together some hand-held units as we speak. We'll deal with our guests in here you get the word out that we've got something."

Atom floats up and says, "All-right we need to turn the tide here first and then figure out how to deal with the big one in space. I have an idea but for now we need to get things moving here a-s-a-p."

The two head off into the decontamination chamber. Following that The Atom is given what appears to be a modified I-Phone.

Griggs says, "Press the square and it will emit the signal. You need to be within 2 feet and hold it in place for 5 seconds. You can't move so much as an inch from your spot the frequency is focused on aver precise point in the brain any movement is no good. The charge is good for 24 hours after that it's useless. We've start producing as many as we can."

The Atom says, "I'll go give it a field test keep in touch."

She floats outside and sees one coming towards her. Once it gets within 2 feet she presses the button and holds her ground.

The Atom says, "This thing is starting violate my personal space Griggs. It..."

Suddenly the parasite plummets to the earth and shatters into a thousand crystal splinters.

The Atom yells, "IT WORKED! YES! HA HA!"

She then focuses all her thoughts on J'onn and thinks the following.

J'onn get everyone here on earth to Star Labs now! We got something. We got a fighting chance! We got a chance to win hurry!"